Lost Joy

by Camden Joy

Fiction. Short Stories. Collected here are the rich, poignant stories that established Camden Joy's reputation as "one of the country's most original music writers" (Ira Glass, NPR). Some are tales of high adventure in which disappeared songs or bands appear as buried treasure. Some speak of fleeting passions, of love squandered and identities gone missing. Some originally surfaced in the form of polemical tracts, or as ephemera pasted on the streets of New York City. Others existed only as rumors, beyond the reach of any reader. Each, until now, has been lost. "Camden Joy is sort of the Irvine Welsh of American rock, setting music to narrative with a knowingness and grace that elucidates what it means to be a rock star and / or fan more persuasively than any other contemporary novelist"--from the preface by Dennis Cooper.

Genres: Music

271 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joy is a guy who loves rock. He also loves writing. When you combine rock with writing you usually get.... well, I don't know! But I do know Joy is a fanastic writer and this collection of 'rock' writing is superb. Eccentric, wild, and a mind-fuck all on one dish. Check his work out, he's very unique and I think his work is important as well.

[sweetpinkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in a second hand book store, priced for a dollar, and autographed. It's been a pleasant surprise. However, it was a marathon read for me, meaning I took way too long to read it. It got especially difficult near the end. I love the first and last chapters, which I guess makes sense because they took place in the same universe. It's pretty cool that Dennis Cooper wrote the preface, since they both use themselves as secondary characters in their novels (I think for Dennis Cooper it was Frisk). The way that Camden Joy writes these musicians and bands make them feel fictional, so it's always a surprise when I search up the people he's been talking about and realize that they're real. I suppose for people who know who these music artists are and/or listen to them, it's probably pretty nice to see them from a different lens.

knocked down a star because his writing drags sometimes. also, did not really enjoy the "my life in eighteen songs" chapter.

[Matty Evanosky · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a book about stuff and finding the aforementioned stuff and being pleased

[Ben Bush]

I spoke with Camden Joy for Bookforum on the occasion of Joy's back catalog being reissued.

I also wrote an essay about Camden Joy for Los Angeles Review of Books.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you love music like i love music this book is perfect.